A faint smile ford on Yeon Woo Jin’s lips.
Seeing that, Cheongi Jin-in asked,
“Why are you smiling?”
“Ah, my apologies. It seems I unconsciously smiled because I feel like I’ve found what I’m ant to do.”
“And what is it that you must do, Gongja?”
“To protect this world. I feel as though that is the reason I was born into this world. Perhaps the heavens, fearing the world would fall into chaos, sent down as an unforeseen variable.”
Hearing those words, Cheongi Jin-in beca curious about Yeon Woo Jin’s true strength.
“How strong are you, Gongja?”
At that, Yeon Woo Jin smiled faintly and replied,
“Stronger than my grandfather.”
Grandfather...
“Y-You an... stronger than the Martial God and Celestial Lord?”
“Yes.”
It was unbelievable.
But it didn’t sound like a lie either.
Cheongi Jin-in stared at Yeon Woo Jin for a mont before bursting into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha... Well now... If that’s true, Gongja, you are no different from an army of thousands. As I said earlier, our Jeomchang will do everything we can to assist you.”
“Thank you. I will also do my utmost to support Jeomchang.”
“I heard there will be a competition to select the next Martial God. Are the other candidates as strong as you?”
“They are not.”
“Then why bother? When we already have Gongja, soone stronger than the current Martial God?”
“At the ti, I had no interest in the position of Martial God. I was young as well. So my grandfather did not force and sought to select a new Martial God through proper ans.”
Hearing Yeon Woo Jin’s explanation, Cheongi Jin-in roughly grasped the situation.
It was obvious. The next Martial God would undoubtedly be Yeon Woo Jin, standing right before him.
“Not just offering assistance in every way... I shall stand with you, Gongja.”
“Stand with ?”
“If you beco the Martial God, Jeomchang will align itself with you.”
“You an Jeomchang will officially beco part of Mushincheon?”
“Indeed. That way, it will be much easier for us to lend our strength. I will handle persuading the sect disciples.”
“That’s quite the responsibility you’re placing on my shoulders.”
“Hahaha, but Gongja will accomplish it well. I believe that.”
Yeon Woo Jin smiled lightly.
“Then, to commorate us becoming one family, I suppose I should leave a small gift behind.”
“A gift? You’ve already given us the Fourfold Blade Art, a trendous gift.”
“That originally belonged to Jeomchang, so it’s not a gift. Is there a pill refining chamber here?”
“There is... But why do you ask?”
“I possess so talent in alchemy as well. I will craft elixirs for Jeomchang’s disciples.”
“Normally, I should refuse... But in these tis, we must grow stronger. I will gratefully accept your gift.”
“Also, I’d like to examine the Sect Leader’s body.”
“My body?”
“Yes. You need to live long and lend your strength.”
“Hahaha... Have your dical skills also reached the heights of heaven?”
“Not quite to that extent.”
“You are no ordinary man, Gongja. That is why your fate remains unseen. The divine have no need for fate’s rules.”
“You flatter .”
“I speak only the truth. Should I lie down here?”
“Yes. It will be sowhat painful.”
“Hahaha, that’s fine.”
****
The next day.
Cheongi Jin-in looked over his transford body with a faint, incredulous smile.
Unbelievable as it was, even his dical skill had reached heavenly heights.
Moreover, the innate qi within him—sothing that seed impossible to replenish—had been completely restored.
It made no sense.
Innate qi isn’t sothing one can refill just because they wish to.
It is life force itself.
Yet, it had been replenished.
‘Gongja Yeon truly is a divine being...’
A god sent down when calamity strikes the world.
And that god had personally crafted elixirs for Jeomchang.
Those elixirs would not be ordinary by any ans.
Cheongi Jin-in sat in a lotus position and began the Great Heavenly Circulation with his renewed body.
The qi spread throughout heaven and earth rapidly surged into his body.
That qi beca inner energy, quickly circulating through his ridians.
His body gradually began to levitate.
At the sa ti, golden light radiated from Cheongi Jin-in’s body.
A sacred aura spread in all directions, reaching even the Daoists standing guard outside the Upper Pavilion.
They instinctively understood.
The Sect Leader was attaining enlightennt.
“The Sect Leader is ascending to a new realm! Lock down the entire area, let no one approach!”
“Yes, sir!”
In an instant, Jeomchang’s Daoists surrounded the Upper Pavilion and began securing the periter.
****
Who knows how much ti had passed.
Crrrack—!
The Upper Pavilion began to tremble.
Simultaneously, doors and windows shattered from the overwhelming qi.
Craack—!
Crackle—!
A storm of raw qi engulfed the Upper Pavilion, raging uncontrollably.
“T-That...!”
Within the swirling maelstrom of energy, Cheongi Jin-in hovered in midair.
His body appeared remarkably younger.
“The Sect Leader has undergone reversal of aging—Return to Youth!”
“Primordial Celestial Lord has blessed the Sect Leader!”
The disciples all rejoiced at Cheongi Jin-in’s breakthrough.
Whoooosh—!
The imnse energy perating the area was instantly sucked into Cheongi Jin-in’s body.
Having absorbed all the qi, his body slowly descended to the ground.
Flash—!
Cheongi Jin-in opened his eyes.
For a brief mont, a fierce light shone in them before fading.
He slowly rose to his feet, inspecting his body, as the Daoists of Jeomchang rushed over with congratulations.
“Congratulations on your attainnt, Sect Leader!”
“Congratulations!”
Cheongi Jin-in smiled at the disciples offering their praise.
“Thank you. There’s sothing I must say to you all...”
His gaze shifted to the ruined state of the Upper Pavilion as he spoke.
“But first, let’s move to another place.”
****
The leadership of Jeomchang gathered in the Ho Cheon Pavilion.
Cheongi Jin-in spoke to those focusing their attention on him.
“I know you all have many questions regarding the Heavenly Signs.”
“That’s correct. What exactly do those visions an?”
“What do you think they an?”
“Does it signify the Demonic Cult will soon reveal itself to the world?”
“That’s right.”
“T-Then isn’t this a catastrophe?”
“We must alert the world imdiately and prepare counterasures!”
At their words, Cheongi Jin-in shook his head.
“It’s useless. It will only cause further division.”
“What do you an, division?”
“When I first announced reading the Heavenly Signs, didn’t all of you argue fiercely over it? So of you wanted to use this as an opportunity to reclaim the leadership we lost to Mushincheon. Wouldn’t other factions be harboring similar thoughts? Especially the Martial Alliance or the Heretical Alliance—they’d be even more aggressive in that regard.”
It was true.
Particularly sects like the Wudang Sect or the Mount Hua Sect would pounce with blazing eyes.
All in the na of restoring their forr glory.
“Then what should we do? Just stand by and watch as disaster unfolds?”
“No. That cannot happen. We must unite all of the Central Plains as one.”
“Is such a thing even possible?”
Cheongi Jin-in nodded firmly.
“The one capable of uniting the entirety of the Central Plains is already here within Jeomchang.”
“What?”
“When did they arrive?”
“Who is it?”
Confused expressions appeared across the faces of the leadership.
At that mont, one person seed to recall sothing.
“Wait... Could it be the one who saved the Sect Leader? The Master of Sincheon Trading Group?”
“That’s right. The Heavenly Signs revealed him. He is the one destined to save the world.”
The gathering fell into shock.
It was written in the Heavenly Signs.
That he would be the one to save the world.
If Cheongi Jin-in said so, it was true.
“He is already a complete being. Incredibly strong.”
“How do you know this?”
“How do you think I achieved enlightennt?”
“Did he assist you?”
“He did. He replenished the innate qi that had withered within and healed my diseased body. Thanks to him, I was able to achieve enlightennt.”
Cheongi Jin-in’s words made little sense.
“Innate qi... is that sothing that can be replenished?”
“So it seems. He is a divine being. A celestial sent down to protect us. Thus, we must serve him with the utmost sincerity. If we disappoint him and he departs... then truly, the world will descend into hell.”
A divine being?
Sent from the heavens?
Are they really expected to believe that?
Had the Sect Leader been bewitched by him?
But no—the Sect Leader’s eyes shone with nothing but pure, radiant clarity.
“Are you... speaking sincerely?”
“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”
“Well... no, but... it’s such a fantastical tale...”
“No matter how much I examine the Heavenly Signs, over and over again, the only way to overco this calamity is for him to step forward.”
“Is he truly that strong?”
“He is. Even if the entire Jeomchang were to attack him, we couldn’t lay a finger on him.”
Soone like that... does such a being even exist?
Ah—there is one.
The Martial God and Celestial Lord.
“Are you saying... he’s stronger than the Martial God himself?”
“Yes. Even the Martial God cannot defeat him. The Heavenly Signs declare it so.”
If the Heavenly Signs said so, there was nothing to refute.
Cheongi Jin-in’s readings of the Heavenly Signs had always been uncannily accurate.
“From this mont forward, Jeomchang will follow him.”
“What? W-What do you an by that?”
“Have you not been listening? I said we must unite around him to overco this disaster.”
“But... we’ve overco the Demonic Cult in the past. We can prevail again.”
“You know nothing. This ti, the Demonic Cult will erge after thorough, ticulous preparation. They will exploit every weakness, sow division among us. To prevent that, we must rally around a singular, overwhelming force.”
Cheongi Jin-in produced the Sect Leader’s Command Seal and issued his decree.
“All disciples will obey the Sect Leader’s command!”
The leadership of Jeomchang simultaneously /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ prostrated themselves.
“From this day forth, Jeomchang will serve Yeon Woo Jin Gongja as our leader. This is an official command of the Sect Leader!”
“W-We receive your command with utmost loyalty!”
Cheongi Jin-in spoke with clear dissatisfaction on his face.
“I didn’t want to resort to such asures... but without this, conflict would erupt again. I have no choice. I hope you will all cooperate.”
“We understand.”
“Tomorrow, go to the Alchemy Pavilion. Gongja Yeon has prepared a gift for you all.”
“A... gift?”
“Yes.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
‘Fine. We should see this person for ourselves.’
They all shared the sa thought.
Cheongi Jin-in, too, believed that once they encountered Yeon Woo Jin in person, they would understand his words.
That was precisely why he hadn’t revealed Yeon Woo Jin’s true identity to them yet.
It was better they naturally discovered it themselves—it would lessen their resistance.
****
The next day.
At the Alchemy Pavilion, Yeon Woo Jin distributed sothing to the Jeomchang leadership.
“What is this?”
They spoke with formal respect, rembering they were instructed to serve him sincerely.
“These are called Inyeondan.”
“Inyeondan?”
“Do you know of Johwadan?”
“Of course! Isn’t it the most famous elixir in the Central Plains?”
“We recently managed to purchase two pills with great difficulty. The effects were astounding, just like the rumors claid.”
“I am the one who created Johwadan.”
“What?”
“Is... Is that true?”
“It is. And the elixir you now hold in your hands surpasses Johwadan in every way.”
At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, all eyes shifted toward the Inyeondan in unison.
“These elixirs are made only for those with a destined connection to . You must imdiately circulate your qi after consumption to fully absorb their power.”
“H-Here? You an to start circulating our qi right here?”
“Yes. The unique property of Inyeondan is this: the more people who consu them in the sa place, the greater the effect on each individual.”
Everyone began exchanging cautious glances.
“Quickly now. There is much to be done.”
Much to be done?
Aside from this, what else could there be?
In the end, they each popped the Inyeondan into their mouths and sat down in a lotus position.
Truthfully, had it not been for the Sect Leader’s command, they would never have obeyed so easily.
They only listened to Yeon Woo Jin because of that command.
As they began circulating their qi...
Yeon Woo Jin stretched out his hand toward them.
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